CAMP PENDLETON: Race to take runners through base’s buffalo alley

An expected 1,000 runners will set off Saturday in a race through the backcountry trails of Camp Pendleton, where buffalo still roam.

The Buffalo Alley Run, aptly named, goes through rolling, grass hills and meadows hearkening back to a time 100 years ago when the land was a cattle ranch known as Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. The ranch’s cattle brand became the base’s logo. Today, there are 115 bison, commonly known as buffalo roaming the 125,000-acre base.

Runners might spot a few on the 10k course that begins at Camp Horno on the Northern end of the base, and heads up into the hills, following some trails Marines train on. The course goes up Recon Hill, along a 500 ft. high ridge with scenic vistas overlooking Deer Valley and wide open fields that are a rarity in North County.

The 10k makes a loop back to the camp, with a two-hour limit on finish time and a mass start at 8:30 a.m. A 1k run for kids age 14 and under kicks off the event at 8:05 a.m.; a 5k run starts at 8:45 a.m. going on cross-country roads around Camp Horno.

The race is open to civilians and military with about a third of the participants being active-duty Marines.

“It’s a race where civilians and Marines run side by side and you’ll see runners say thank you to the Marines,” said Jill Prichard, race series coordinator at Camp Pendleton.

Buffalo Alley is the last in this year’s hard corps series of seven races on base, the most popular of which is the annual “World Famous Mud Run” in June.